If you’re not using online video, you’re missing out.
Last year, videos accounted for half of all mobile data traffic, says CISCO, and while people are watching much less TV, video’s popularity continues to rise.
That’s why it makes sense to include video on your site. Here are 6 ways that using video boosts conversions, with the stats to back them up.
Image: Placeit.net
1. More Attention, More Conversions
One of the main things to know about using video on your site is that it’s a real attention getter.
We’re not advocating those autoplay videos everybody finds annoying (are you listening, Facebook?) Instead, it’s about having video available for viewing on your site.
More sites are using video to explain their business, products and services and there’s a scientific basis for doing this.
An article on Forbes shows that it’s all about psychology. Videos incorporate four elements that human beings are wired to pay attention to—we just can’t help ourselves! The four areas are:
- faces
- voices
- body language
- movement
You can bet that in earliest times, humans used these cues to separate friends from foes, so it’s part of our DNA. It’s the reason we can hear someone talking about us across a crowded room.
There’s sound data to back this up. A study of online fashion retailers showed that those using video on product pages saw a 134% boost in conversions while an A/B test of a fitness product sales page saw a 46% uplift in clickthroughs to the purchase page when the sales page included a video. Stats on retail sales from Econsultancy provide even more evidence that when you use video, you tap into these primal cues to keep people looking a little bit longer.
That also ties in with the second reason that videos can boost conversions.
Image: Pixabay
2. Getting Beyond the First Blink
We already know that web attention spans are short. It’s a case of “blink and you’ll miss it” says a study by Anagard, which shows that people normally stay on your site for six seconds or less (just a bit longer than the average blink, if you’re interested).
If people don’t look, your site can’t convert, so anything that makes them look longer will help with conversions. That’s exactly what video does.
Stick a video on your homepage or landing page and a few people who won’t read a long article will watch it. This has a very real impact on your bounce rate.
Comscore statistics reported on David Boozer’s site show that web users viewing video stay two minutes longer and are 64% more likely to buy something. That’s enough of a reason to use video and explains why landing page videos get such great results.
3. May I Help You?
Video also boosts conversions by answering users’ questions.
Most people have the same basic questions about any purchase. They want to know whether a product or service will do what they want, whether it will last a reasonable time, whether they will enjoy using it and how easy it is to use. Using video to answer these questions, as well as other important ones about shipping and returns, can improve conversions.
Zappos has been doing this for years, using real people (their employees) to showcase their products. The videos have improved their sales by between 6 and 30%.
There are other statistics to back this up. A study from Invodo shows that people expect video to be part of their shopping experience. Around 60% watch product videos when they find them on websites, spending up to 3 minutes doing so. (That’s a heck of a lot better than 6 seconds, isn’t it?) And mobile video viewers often return to videos multiple times, giving you more chances to make a sale.
Add to that the fact that mobile device users are quicker to purchase than desktop browsers and that’s another reason to use video. Check out more data in this report from E-tailing.com.
4. Sharing is Caring
The only thing better than finding a great product or service is being able to tell people about it. Video is a big part of that, making your reach much wider.
In 2013 more than 700 YouTube videos were shared every minute on Twitter And more than 500 videos were watched daily on Facebook.
Recent data from Marketing Land shows that tweets with videos received 28% more retweets.
Sharing makes the reach of your content a lot wider. According to Econsultancy videos drive “curated commerce” where people share videos to huge sales drivers such as Pinterest.
5. What’s Your Story?
Image: Pixabay
We know that telling stories is the best way to connect with your customers so it’s no surprise that using video to tell your story really works.
Having an explainer video to show visitors the value that you offer can boost conversions by as much as 20% according to data published on Unbounce.
And that’s not the only kind of video to consider. Search Engine Watch has some excellent examples of brand storytelling that really got people interested. Maybe you could use these to experiment with telling the story of your company.
6. The Trust Factor
Coming full circle, the fact that people relate better to video images can help you build authority and trust in a longer term approach to improving conversions.
Statistics from Reel SEO show conversion rate increases of between 27 and 46% for those using video on product pages. The strange thing is that simply having the video available helps build trust—the study showed that those figures applied even if people did not watch the video
And some companies have built authority and visibility by posting videos discussing positively how their products and services compare with those of their competitors, as an article on Search Engine Watch shows.
As we have seen, using video on your site can help you:
- win attention
- build authority
- reduce bounce rate
- tell your story
- provide information for users
- give them something to share
Any of those will help conversions; achieve all and you’ll really be happy.
Consider using video on your home and about pages, as well as to explain products and service to improve the performance of your website and your business. And remember to test regularly to see that your videos give the right results in terms of attention and revenue.
Read other Crazy Egg posts by Sharon Hurley Hall.
